Chapter 2

Dayton watched as his father slide from the back of the black dragon. To assist him, the black knelt on one knee and turned his head so his rider could grasp one of the protruding horns as leverage as he stepped down. The black touched his head to Dayton's father, gently pushing against his chest. They seemed to commune for a moment and in fact that is just what they were doing. Man and beast shared a special telepathic link which only was seen between a dragon and one human. Some dragons lived through three human lifetimes before they found the one with whom they were destined to link. This did not mean that one couldn't communicate with a dragon. They were exceptionally bright creatures and responded to spoken commands or hand signals. They didn't really communicate through a language, rather when bonded with a human, the two felt a strong connection and shared more of an empathic link. Dayton's father told him once that he had to guard his thoughts and emotions sometimes because of the link. Many years ealier, shortly after linking with the black, he had become angry with a villager who was abusing his children, making even a five year old toil in the dirt, pulling weeds. This was bad enough, but Dayton's father witnessed the farmer take a whip to one of the children, roughly nine years of age, for dropping a bucket of corn he had just harvested and was carrying back to the farmhouse. It was over in an instant. Dayton's father felt the anger, thought how it would serve the farmer right if he was to feel the weight of the whip, and before the thought had time to fully formulate in his mind, the black had whipped his tail and thrown the farmer nearly 20 feet against the side of a shed. The farmer suffered a broken arm and had the skin from his back nearly ripped from his body as the black's sharp barbs penetrated his clothing, hooked into skin and then ripped free as the farmer flew out of reach.

Chapter 1: The Story Begins

Dayton raised his head and listened. The birds safely caged on the roof had just begun raising a ruckus. This meant one of two things. A cat was prowling nearby, or they had sighted another kind of predator. He grabbed his field glass and raced to the roof. He glanced at the birds which continued to squawk and flutter about the cage. He scanned the horizon, turning in a semi-circle, but saw nothing. Raising his field glass, he made another scan. He had to scan slower with the field glasses. They didn't cover as much territory as a general scan, and items moved too quickly past the small viewing area. But there. From the east. He could just make out a figure. No, two figures. One larger than the other.

His excitement grew. He struggled to hold the field glass still and focus in. Yes. There they were. A large black and a smaller saphire dragon. He looked long and hard, trying to pick out the figures upon their backs. There they were.

Quickly, he grabbed a nearby rope and yanked upon it. He gave it two good tugs, sending a pealing ringing sound throughout the area. He turned and raced downstairs, taking the steps two and three at a time, grabbing the railing and leaping for six and seven steps when possible. Even at this, as quick as he was, he still barely made it to the courtyard before the two majestic dragons settled gently to the ground, their wings stirring up the dust which forever plagued the staff responsible for keeping the courtyard clean.

“St. George and the Dragon”

"St. George and the Dragon" is a marble relief by Michel Colombe, and dates back to 1508–09. It is currently found in the Louvre, Paris. So how can we be sure Dragons didn't exist? Pictures of them can be found in almost every country and many date back to a time when travel was treacherous and undertaken by on a few.

In fact, according to the Encyclopaedia Britanica, in the Baltic religion, Kalvis was a smithy, but he also seems to have been a dragon killer, a function in which he was superseded by the Christian St. George.I guest this was accomplished in between his early morning duty of hammering out a new sun Aušrinė (Latvian Auseklis), the dawn, and a silver belt and golden stirrups for Dievo sūneliai (Latvian Dieva dēli), the morning and evening stars. Regardless, he was noted for his dragon slaying skills long before St. George and long, long before Colombe decided to depict St. George slaying his dragon. You can see the relief by clicking on the link. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/126014/9562/St-George-and-the-Dragon-marble-relief-by-Michel-Colombe

Dragon, Knights and interesting desktop art

Found this interesting site where you can download pictures and artwork for your desktop or screensaver. Some cute Fire-breathing dragons and loads of Fantasy Dragon drawings.

Sean Connery - Knight extraordinairre

I think Sean Connery makes for interesting discussion. He has played Knights, Kings and even a Dragon (well, the voice of a dragon in "Dragonheart"). And as Robin Hood, he stole from the rich and gave to the poor - protecting the innocent. A man who's cinema beginnings were marked with cold blooded killer films, and later playing thieves, has become an icon for Knightly behavior and beliefs. I am glad he "saw the light" and cleaned up his image.

I remember in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" with Kevin Costner, when at the end of the movie the King calls out during the wedding ceremony, holding it up so he could preside. I don't believe there was soul in the theater who did not recognize his voice - so distinctive that it is. And later, people talked about Sean Connery in the film when he had all of three minutes on screen. Obviously he has touched our souls.

And then, in 2000, Sean Connery became Sir Sean Connery when he was knighted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Obviously, this was not given lightly by the crown and I must agree, it was well deserved.